Freedom Appraisal Software

[Dale Floyd]

I wish anyone starting a new formsware company luck. The economics of that business are tough, especially given the mindset of many appraisers. The total potential customer base is very small, especially given the capital required for startup. And, when it comes to software (and CE) price is a MAJOR consideration for many (most?). It is a tough game to enter as a new player.

No doubt about that Danny.

And, obviously, there's no guarantees of any appraisal software company staying independent of the Core Logics of tomorrow either. To really make money in any business, there has to be an exit strategy (buy out, merge, etc.) unless the business has legacy values to consider. But right now, I've got all my eggs in a basket that I've carried around since 1990. I've literally got ZAP files all the way back to 2001, with some of the beta trials. I have never used any other major appraisal software and I've been doing this since I was young and beautiful.

I'm just getting the feeling that those of us who are very dependent on Total's mentality, need to educate ourselves about potential alternatives. Perhaps it will never be necessary, but then again, one never knows.

BTW - I hope you and yours are doing well.

 

[Tom Woolford]

I've never cared for Cloud based "solutions" for Appraisal Form filling. Just seems like another way to lose control of my data, and leaves me with none of the backup alternatives I use now (Triple redundant). As I'm gearing down my career, it doesn't seem like a good time to abandon my principles.

 

[Skeletor]

I'm getting really suspicious of Alamode since the buy out. This last scheme of wanting to charge me to open my comp information for other appraisers to glean, just about cleans my clock... I want to see alternatives just in case.

Yes. I am also excited to see some alternatives. Since PoorLogic has been taking over the entire industry it seems, I welcome any new competition and ideas with an open mind.

 

[George Hatch]

The forms are easy. I've been doing forms in Excel for over 10 years now. But that's just the word processing and externals. If all you had to do was send pdfs by email that could work for you as easily as it works for me. But uploading XML and the like is another story entirely. Someone like Vegas Wayne might have that figured out, but it's over my head.

 

[Robert McGaughey]

Your welcome Dale. My annual fee for Alamode, with all the bells and whistles, also dwarfs $350 with $89 per month being less expensive, especially if you utilize DataMaster or Spark on top of that. It is good to see other alternatives to Alacamode. Price is certainly not the only consideration and I welcome the opportunity to view a new player in the field. I too am skeptical of cloud based software, but will check out the new software when available, do my homework, and hopefully make a wise decision for my software needs. Best of luck to you!

 

[TRESinc]

But right now, I've got all my eggs in a basket that I've carried around since 1990. I've literally got ZAP files all the way back to 2001, with some of the beta trials. I have never used any other major appraisal software and I've been doing this since I was young and beautiful.

I'm just getting the feeling that those of us who are very dependent on Total's mentality, need to educate ourselves about potential alternatives. Perhaps it will never be necessary, but then again, one never knows.

excellent point. appraisers are creatures of habit, and as we all know our average age is well above 50 and people in that age bracket tend to not be the most computer literate people so any major changed is a hard pill to swallow. changing software providers is a very daunting task, not only for learning a new platform but more importantly losing all your years of work as most software uses proprietary files like ZAP.

My annual fee for Alamode, with all the bells and whistles, also dwarfs $350 with $89 per month being less expensive, especially if you utilize DataMaster or Spark on top of that.

it's been years since i used alamode but i'm curious as to what bells and whistles you have that make your annual software costs over $1,000. when i was using it i had (i believe) enterprise level which gave me what i thought were all the bells and whistles (maps, flood data, etc) but that was a one-time cost when the initial purchase was made and my annual cost was only the service contract, which at the lowest level was $350 annually. other than expanded hours for tech support what extras are you getting for over $700 more per year (assuming you are not using the $350 service contract level)?

 

[Dale Floyd]

My fee runs around $2,200+/- annually after their self appointed discounts at renewal. Network server license, flood maps, vault, Data Courier, Estimator, xSite, all plugins, Comps Database, Elite 24/7 tech support, etc.

My whole firm is on Total, and it is what it is.

The biggest thing making it difficult to replace is that everything about the report, including the work files, are saved to the ZAP folders. Have to use Total to access them, which really creates a lot of barriers to change.

 

[Dale Floyd]

Well - I just got my renewal notice, and looks like things went up just a little bit... All in all, looks like my annual cost is going to be around $2,600..... I need to explore alternatives...

 

[Joe Flacco]

How many people are in your firm?

 

[Robert McGaughey]

TRESinc, I have Total's Elite package, which is all there bells and whistles...…
Elite System

• Platinum Partnership: Maps, updates, 24x7x365 tech support
• Enterprise Appraiser XSite: Website & system for non-lender marketing
• TOTAL: Forms, comps, photos, signatures, mobile, workfile & more
• TOTAL Connect Pro: Delivery plugins (AI Ready ENV, CoreLogic Valuation Solutions, and more)
• Titan Analytics - instant market analysis
• InterFlood: 500 maps with FEMA data
• One-on-one coaching
• Vault: Automatic cloud storage for 1,000 appraisals files annually
• TOTAL Sketch Pro: Our advanced sketcher & integration with other sketchers
• XSellerate: Proactive marketing campaigns for appraisers
• XSites Network: 2 directory listings
• One free day of live training
• One free course from the Seminars On Demand library
• Elite-only Support

This is a summary from their website and please view it for additional info on other things included. This may not be the cheapest alternative available, but it has worked well for me. Best of luck to you.